Murder of Miss Lydia Bell

 16-year-old Miss Lydia Bell was asked by a private in the York volunteers asked her to walk that night. She did so without telling her father between the night of May 11th and 12th of 1804 She snuck out of her Scarborough, England home around 9 p.m. leaving through a neighbor's home to not be seen by her family. The neighbor warned her not to go because the man she was meeting was married. She ignored their advice and left with him anyway. Her family became aware she snuck out and worried about her.

The next morning Lydia's body was found around 11 a.m. she was lying on the Cayton Sands about two yards in the water with her head towards the sea. It was obvious whoever killed her expected her body to be brought out to sea. She had been brutally killed. Her clothes were torn and it seemed as if someone tried to sexually assault her. She had been beaten about her face and had scars, and skin on her arm had been torn from the bone. It was obvious she fought back from her attacker.  Her killer had strangled her to death. There were footprints in the sand near her body but unfortunately didn't extend to either side of the beach.

There was a malicious rumor that she was pregnant and had jumped off of a cliff to kill herself. This was not true as autopsy did not show that she was pregnant was in fact murdered.

The York Volunteer was taken in and questioned. He claimed he wasn't acquainted with the girl, but did speak with her before her death. The neighbors who she left the home of state he was the one who they saw her leave with that night. Her sister stated he was the same man to ask her on a walk and her brother stated that he had also seen him talking to his sister another day. He was found to have an alibi and magistrate was satisfied with it and released him.

The family believed he did it. Her father wrote a letter to the newspaper stating that he wasn't claiming that the whole York Volunteer was bad, but the man who killed his daughter was. He felt that people who were in the York Volunteer would understand.

It was later found out that four "witnesses" from the York Volunteers, Val Nicholson, William Short, Jonathan Simpson claimed to see another York Volunteer with Lydia on Cayton Road. He was taken to trial but was acquitted for the crime as there was no evidence.

It turned out the four had committed perjury to protect Val Nicholson. All four had suffered torments from the murder with guilt, chronic nightmares, and untimely deaths. Shortly before Val Nicholson died he confessed to killing the teen girl.

SOURCES:
Historic UK
The Times 24 May 1804
The Ipswich Journal 26 May 1804
Aberdeen Journal, and General Advertiser for the North of Scotland 06 June 1804
The Hull Packet; and East Riding Times 10 July 1804
The Monthly Mirror Volume 17

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